I'm Home but still Missing my Family!

I have quarantined myself in the bedroom and Adoring Husband is waiting on me and providing me with sustenance so that I don't share my germs with little Chicklet.

My symptoms are, a very raw throat, headaches, aching joints, increasing congestion, coughing, sneezing and lethargy.

These are not symptoms that I would like to share with anyone, let alone a five month old baby.

This is the first time that I've been sick since moving here three years ago and the last time I fell ill, was when I visited BGWLBH the time before last.

I caught that virus at the airport though, because I had seven hours there between flights.

I am generally very healthy and I can nurse Adoring Husband through flus and colds without falling ill myself.

This is really annoying.

I've been home for three days and haven't been able to cuddle my little Chicklet once.  I miss my family and I am willing myself well with every ounce of my being!!

I am even missing out on spending time with our visitors from down south, who have come to town for a few days.

Just another day or two (please?!) for me to be well again.

I promise not to whinge about being sick anymore ... just had to vent one more time.

Thank you for listening!!

Nite all  

It Got Me!

While on holidays, I came into contact with many, many people who were carrying some kind of virus.  They were coughing and voiceless and lethargic.  Even BGWLBH was ill for a time.

I fought it as best I could by taking regular doses of Olive Leaf Extract, Manuka honey, Vitamin C, drinking lots of water, eating apples and onions.

Unfortunately during the night of my first night home, I woke up feeling like I had swallowed razor blades.

I have spent the day locked in my bedroom, hoping to keep my nasty germs away from little Chicklet ... we all know that she needs to build her immunities, but I am NOT going to be the one who causes her to feel this crappy!

Hopefully if I take it easy for the next day or two, I will get well quickly and be able to give her big kisses and cuddles again.

So my posts between now and when I'm well again, may be brief or non-existent.

Just thought I would let you know, in case there is anybody out there who cares.

I fought a good hard battle, but in the end, it got me!!

Nite all  

The End of my Holiday

Sadly, I have to farewell BGWLBH tomorrow.

I fly out early tomorrow morning and will be home by lunchtime.

I'm all packed.

I had to mail a big box home, full of most of the stuff that I bought while here.  It cost me $21 to post!!

I am also leaving behind, my big wool coat, a pair of slippers, some winter pyjamas and a tracksuit ... and STILL, I will have to sit on my suitcase to get the zipper shut!!

It has been a really great week.  Even though we did nothing spectacular, it's been so nice to spend some time with my friend.

We've laughed and whinged and bitched and gossiped and moaned and sniggered and giggled and teased and debated and argued and smiled and shared and dreamed.

I hope that we get to do it all again next year if she decides to come up and spend some holiday time with me at my end of the world.

It will be sad to say goodbye tomorrow.  It's always sad to say goodbye and there are ALWAYS tears!!  Ugh!

On the other hand ...

It will be wonderful to be back in the arms of my Adoring Husband and I am so looking forward to seeing my little family again ... Vegan Chickie, the Bare-chested Chef and little Chicklet.  

I am also looking forward to soaking up some of the warmer weather!

The weather here has ranged from a minimum of 3C degrees to a maximum of 12C degrees for the past few days (did I already mention that in another post???) and the cold is beginning to set in my bones.

It might take a day or two to completely thaw out.

Anyway, it's now midnight and I have to be up in four hours!!

Nite all.

My Little Sweetie Possum

Another trivia packed day, along with some shopping, gambling, cooking, eating and knitting.

I thought it was time to bring you some updated photos of my little sweetie possum!

Looking a little bit grumpy

But not for long!

Too cute for grumps!

Vegan Chickie has been emailing me photos every day while I've been away.  I'm looking forward to some big cuddles when I get home ... from everybody, but especially from my sweetie possum!

Pretty colours to look at

Ready to move, but just not quite sure how!

Won't take me long, just you wait and see!

Gotta make sure she gets her vitamin D every day with twenty minutes in the morning sunshine.  We'll have to cut that back to ten minutes when the weather starts to change for Summer!

She's such a cutie pitootie!

Nite all.

Trivia Queens

A few years ago, BGWLBH came on holidays with Adoring Husband and I.

At the end of the holidays, she and I decided to extend our stay an extra week and Adoring Husband returned home because he had to work.

During that week, we attended a trivia night at one of the local hotels.  It was a regular weekly event that was attended by quite a few locals who filled tables with six and eight people per team.

BGWLBH and I only had each other, so we sat at one of the tall tables and joined in the fun on our own.

By the end of the night, we were victorious!!  The two of us, on our own, defeated about six other teams!

We walked home from the hotel carrying our prizes (which were silly little tokens not worth much) and singing the Queen song 'We Are The Champions' at the tops of our voices.  We were sober!

It will always be one of the highlights in our friendship and something that we brag about to others and reminisce about with each other often.

We have always enjoyed trivia.  Our brains are full of useless information!  In our younger days, we often held trivia parties on the weekends (along with pictionary, balderdash among many other games).

Years ago, we found a trivia site online, where we competed against other people from all over the world.

BGWLBH had the fastest brain and I had the fastest fingers on the keyboard, so between us, we did pretty well and developed a bit of a reputation.

The reason I tell you all of this, is because it's been a good while since we played trivia regularly together (a good six or seven years) and today we found a new trivia site online and spent about eight hours playing trivia!

It was fun ... although I must say, we are not as fast as we used to be!

We spent a lot of time yelling things like "You know!!  That boy!!  In that movie!!  The movie with that young girl in it!!  You know!!??  Yes you DO!!"

A bit more frustrating than it once was!

If anybody out there is interested in a bit of trivia fun, try this site ...

www.sporcle.com

We've had many enjoyable trivia hours on it and expect that soon we will be Trivia Queens again!!

Nite all
 

A Bird is a Bird is a Bird.

Here we are safe n sound.

All of those lovely birds that we saw on the drive over on Friday, were nowhere to be seen on the drive home today.

The first fellow that caught our attention, drinking out of the gutter??

They were all right between the river and the road.

Stretching on tippy toes and stretching his wings!

I have a couple of photos of ducks, geese and other feathery creatures to share with you, but photographic opportunities have been rare.

Feeding time!

I do believe that this is a shag on a pole!  A goose and a galah in the background!

27 Top Notch (or crested) pigeons on the power lines. 

BGWLBH and I spent the evening playing trivia online.  She trotted off to bed at midnight and here I am trying to create a new post with a frazzled, sleepy brain!

So, at 1am, it's time for this bird to slide between the sheets and get some beauty sleep myself.

Nite all.

Shots in the Night

How convenient that our motel is situated within walking distance of Maccas!

That's how we started our day.  We walked to Maccas for breakfast.

We all slept restlessly last night.  Our motel is right on the main road and we each live in areas that have absolutely no traffic during sleeping hours, so the traffic disturbed our sleep through the night.

At one point during the night, we all three heard what we thought were gunshots.  There were about 20 shots and I heard some yelling in the distance, but then silence.

When we woke this morning, it was the first question we asked each other ... had we each heard it?

There has been nothing on the news and I found nothing online to indicate that there was any disturbance reported.

It definitely happened, but perhaps it was something innocent like a cap gun or fire crackers or any number of less sinister things.

We are right next door to the hospital, so we would have heard further commotion if it was serious!

The rest of our day was filled with a trip to the local markets early this morning, hospital visits, shopping for important stuff (I only bought a pair of socks today!), lunch, deciding to stay one more night and then dinner at Hog's Breath.

Sorely disappointed in Hog's Breath for the second time in a row (two different locations) so it's now crossed off my list of social eating establishments.  Poor and slow service.  Very average food and not reasonably priced at all for what it is.

So now BGWLBH and I are watching the end of a movie (Copycat) before hopefully falling into a deeper and more relaxing sleep than last night.  (Although the movie, Copycat, is hardly conducive for relaxation!)

Looking forward to the trip home tomorrow and hopefully getting some good photos along the way.  They will be happy day shots instead of scary shots in the night!

Nite all!  

Cold and Wet

We left at about 9am and drove for two hours in the dull grey weather.

Most noticeable were the huge  numbers of cockatoos and galahs feeding on the seeds in the fields along the side of the road!

I brought my camera, but we needed to be at our destination at a certain time, so photos have to wait until the trip home, when we can take our time.

So many photo opportunities, so I hope the light is favourable tomorrow on the return trip.

We arrived in town at 11am today and booked into the motel.  After we visited someone special, we did the unthinkable ... we went shopping!!

So many sales!

I walked in my heels until my feet were so sore that I had to buy new flat shoes to rest my weary feet.

Unfortunately, I had to cancel a visit with G'ma and G'pa today.  That made me a bit sad :o(  Hopefully, there will be another opportunity in the not too distant future :o)

The weather is cold and wet and the temperature ranged from a minimum of 4C to a maximum of 9C today.  Tomorrow will reach 11C.  Ugh!

Looking forward to returning to the lovely luke warm temperatures of Queensland, where getting out of bed in the mornings is a pleasant experience, instead of a bone freezing wake up call!

I can handle cold weather at almost any time of the day or night, but I don't enjoy turning down the covers in the morning to be greeted by cold discomfort.  It's just a nasty way to start the day!

I am, however, REALLY enjoying my time with BGWLBH.

It's been fun. Without doing anything out of the ordinary or making any plans for the holiday, we've had fun doing girlie stuff like shopping, watching Dr Who dvds, shopping, Maccas breakfast routine, cooking, shopping ... just regular everyday stuff.  Oh and did I mention shopping?

It's going to be tough saying goodbye ... it's ALWAYS tough saying goodbye to BGWLBH!

It won't be tough, however, saying goodbye to the cold and the wet!

Today has been a good day!

Nite all.

PS  Adoring Husband!!  I love you xxx

Adoring Husband is the Man!

BGWLBH and I dropped the car off to be serviced today and then had to find things to do to fill the day.

Of course, breakfast at Maccas was the first port of call, so the mechanic dropped us there.

We then walked up the main street of town and stopped at every shop that looked like it might stock clothes, jewellery, handbags or shoes.  

Morning tea was up next, followed by MORE shopping.  I acquired some fabulous dress jewellery at very reasonable prices.  

I am also looking at a nice handbag, but we are travelling out of town tomorrow, and hope to do something different like ... ah ... shopping!!  If I can't find anything in our travels, then I will come back for this one.

I've knitted myself a lovely purple shawl while I've been here and I've almost finished a purple scarf as well.

Considering that it was -2C degrees this morning with a heavy frost, I think I need to knit myself a long overcoat!!  It's going to be even colder tomorrow where we are travelling!!  Ugh!!

The best news of the day, however, is that Adoring Husband has booked and paid for two tickets to Jon English and The Rock Show for August back home!!  WAHOO!!

I'm a bit excited about that!!  Adoring Husband!!  He's the MAN!!

Nite all

The Rock Show

OH!
MY!
GOD!

I just experienced the MOST AMAZING theatre show starring Jon English and eight other incredibly talented and energetic young musicians.

I am blown away and did NOT expect to feel so pumped and so exhilarated by these brilliant performers!

They played rock songs from the 60s and 70s including Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, Pink Floyd, David Bowie among many more and then topped it off with the 2nd best rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody I've heard (nobody will ever outdo Freddie Mercury and Queen for that one).

Every single one of those young musicians was absolutely exceptional and extraordinary and could easily be stars in their own right.

All of them could expertly play at least three instruments.  They played violin, cello, bongos, upright piano, electronic keyboards, mouth organs, triangle, tamborines, cowbells, flute, saxophone, acoustic and every other kind of guitar in the universe.

There are no words to describe their voices.  Their vocal ranges were jaw dropping and I could have listened to them all night.

The show went for over 3 hours with a twenty minute interval and the time went so fast!  I could have happily sat there for another 3 hours.

One of them was a dead ringer for Jack Black and another was a Lenny Kravitz lookalike (but much hotter!).

I found myself, during the show, yearning to play an instrument.  They were inspirational.  Quite obviously loving what they do and really enjoying themselves on stage.

They are playing in Maryborough next month and I am hoping Adoring Husband reads this post and books us a couple of tickets because I would LOVE to see them again!

To find out a bit more about what the show is about and how it began, here is the link ...

http://www.therockshow.com.au/

BGWLBH was beside herself when we left the show and couldn't stop raving about it.  The crowd went wild and were so energised when they left, all talking over each other to remind each other of different parts of the show.

Everyone sang along (because they were all from our generation) and the audience gave the show two standing ovations.  Truly remarkable!

If any of you out there have the opportunity to see this show .. don't miss it!  There are a number of shows throughout NSW and QLD between now and December and I HIGHLY recommend it!!

I don't now how I am going to come down from this Rock Show 'high' to get some sleep.  I've got an early start tomorrow!

Nite all.

The Hair Master

Today, I finally got to see my old hair dresser, The Hair Master.  He IS the master of hair ... especially my hair!  I spent a quality two and a half hours with him and he made my hair beautiful again.

I love my Hair Master :o)

He has been in town for twelve years now and in three weeks will be opening his own salon.

When I first moved to Sydney, I flew back every couple of months to get my hair done by my Hair Master, but when I moved to Queensland, it proved WAY too expensive to do that.

Now I make do with a local girl, who kind of follows instructions, but does it poorly.

My Master of Hair charged me $83 for chocolate and blond foils, shampoo, conditioning treatment, blow dry and straightening.

My new hairdresser charges me $130 for two different coloured foils, shampoo and a blow dry and she doesn't even do it well.

I miss my Hair Master :o(

So now, I am going to look fabulous for the Jon English rock concert tomorrow night!

I should get some sleep now, or I may just fall asleep during the concert ... I'm not as young as I once was and it's now 1.15am!!

Still having a lovely time :o)

Nite all.

Bridesmaids

Still having a wonderful time.  The nights are freezing.  Today there were gale force conditions and I was almost blown over in the street!

Tried, unsuccessfully, to do some shoe shopping, but at least Adoring Husband is pleased with a nil result on the shoe score.

This afternoon, BGWLBH and I went to the movies to see 'Bridesmaids'.

We almost bought the cinemas out of junk food.  Popcorn, maltesers, ice cream, twisties and water (because that washes all the calories away!) and then made our way into the cinema.

My real time friends and my facebook friends all told me it was the funniest movie EVER!  So I was expecting hilarity from the very beginning.

It took a good thirty minutes for the first giggle to float from my lips and even then it was an uncomfortable one.

All I felt was sadness and discomfort for the main character, Annie.  It slowly picked up and the scene on the plane was so funny that I had cramps in my ribs from laughing so hard.

Then it got sad again.  I spent more time crying in this movie, from sadness, than laughing!

I really enjoyed the movie after the first thirty excruciating minutes, but it was very emotional.  Even though there was some funny parts to it, on the whole, it was quite sad.

I found the vomiting and diarrhoea scene quite unnecessarily graphic and wasn't amused by it at all.

So we cried a lot ... and I didn't take tissues!

I would highly recommend seeing the movie, but don't go there expecting it to be all comedy, make sure you take tissues and be prepared to feel sympathy, empathy and compassion.

Melissa McCarthy was BRILLIANT as Megan.  I LOVED Chris O'Dowd as Officer Nathan Rhodes.  Kristen Wiig was FABULOUS as Annie ... I think we can all relate to her!

I think I will buy 'Bridesmaids' when it comes out on dvd and add it to my collection!

Nite all.

It's Indy's birthday!

Indy is a Border Collie cross bitch who lives with BGWLBH and is her best friend.  Today is her birthday, so this morning we sang happy birthday to her and gave her a treat.

She was named Indy because she was born on American Independence Day :o)

This afternoon she went for a nice walk with us through the farm and then this evening we encouraged her to catch mice (there is currently a mouse plague in the area) on the front verandah and she seemed to really enjoy that!

I think she had a very pleasant birthday!

Adoring Husband has been off on photographic jaunts while I've been away and took this fabulous photo of synchronised birds which I'm dying to share with you.

I really love it and I'm so jealous that I wasn't there to attempt a shot at this.

I went on a little jaunt myself this afternoon.  I didn't get many good shots in though.  I was a bit too lazy to play with the settings on the camera or to change lenses when I should have, plus I was walking around in gum boots that were a size too big!

Flowering Gum

Vineyard across the road

Renovations in progress for a farm cottage

I will make a more concerted effort over the coming days.

I bumped into some old friends in the main street of town today.  

John, with whom I worked for sixteen years.  It was great to catch up with him and hear about how his family have fared over the years.  He is a good man.

I chatted briefly with KG.  I dedicated a post to her a while back.  She is just adorable and seems to be incredibly happy right now.  I wish her the very best and hope that her happiness only increases as the weeks and months go by.

We did a little shopping today and got a few good bargains.  Gotta love mid year sales!

I do miss my Adoring Husband and my lovely little family back home, but I am really enjoying the time here with my friend too.  It has been relaxing and funny. 

It's so good to know that all the strange things that have been happening to me as I get older are also happening to BGWLBH and that I don't have some strange and rare disease that is eating away at my mental state!

We are growing old and senile at the same rate.  We are just doing it thousands of kms apart!  Such a relief!

Nite all.

Day One - Life is Good!

It was so cold during the night that I couldn't bring myself to get out of bed to pee!  brrrrrrrrr

It's okay, I didn't pee in the bed!

Maccas for breakfast this morning!  Free WiFi and good McCafe coffee ... not that I would EVER recommend Maccas for ANY meal of the day!

However, it's a morning ritual that I have come to enjoy when visiting BGWLBH because she has a serious Maccas breakfast addiction!

Did some shopping early in the day and found my favourite lingerie shop where I seriously controlled my spending.

Ran into an old friend who worked at one of the shops there and caught up with some of her news.

We later visited BGWLBH's Mum and stole some vegetables out of her garden.  We have some serious cooking planned, but tonight we ate out.

I bumped into a few old work colleagues and a couple of friends, an acquaintance or two who seemed to be much more friendly than I remember!

After six years away from here, I am only back twenty four hours and I feel like I never left.  It still feels like home!

People say that once you leave a place, you can never go back because it will never feel the same.  I come back every year expecting people to either have forgotten me or not want to know me anymore, but I am always welcomed back with open arms and I am always surprised by that.

Tomorrow I plan on taking my camera out and about.  While BGWLBH is at church, I will be roaming the village and hopefully getting some nice shots in the early morning light.

It's day one,  I'm having a very nice time and life is good!

Nite for now!

Safe n Sound

Just a quick post before I climb into bed.

I set the buzzers off through the security gate twice (!) before I even left the Bay this morning THEN the drug/bomb man with the scanner stopped me to scan ME and my belongings!  Did I look suspicious??

Had two seats to myself on the flight to Sydney and I planned on writing in the DDD, but discovered that both the pens that I had put in my handbag had mysteriously disappeared!  Bugger!  So I had to settle with reading the inflight magazine instead.

I hadn't eaten breakfast OR lunch so I was feeling a bit peckish and wanted to buy something on the plane.  Then I found that Virgin menus had changed.  The selection to choose from had reduced considerably and the prices had increased markedly.

Instead of paying $10 for a sandwich, I chose a $4 packet of potato chips which disappointingly turned out to be a 30 gram packet which is equivalent to about five crisps.

I decided to wait til I arrived at Sydney airport and buy something more substantial for lunch.

The people sitting behind me had a baby, about four or five months old, who seemed to dislike flying and screamed uncontrollably for the first twenty minutes of the flight.  She cheered up because while we waiting to disembark, she was beaming and smiling at everyone who looked at her!

One of the people sitting in front of me was 'passing smelly wind' for the first twenty minutes of the flight.

So you could say that the first twenty minutes of my journey was most unpleasant!

It did improve though.  The flight was very smooth until we hit the thick, dark clouds hanging over Sydney.  That created a very bumpy descent to the tarmac.

So we landed in Sydney and I found my way to the check-in counter for Rex Airlines where the very smiley attendant commented how 'nice and early' I was.  She didn't charge me for my luggage which was six kilograms over the allowable limit.  (Thank you :o) lovely attendant).

I had to stand on the end of a very long queue and wait for over twenty minutes to get through the security gates back into the terminal, so I spent the time singing happy songs to myself and smiling at strangers.  They appeared to be suspicious of my friendly behaviour!

Then I had four hours to kill.

I tried to get into the Rex Guest Lounge, but you have to be a paid member and they don't have day passes into the area (which Virgin Blue DO - by the way).

So I sat in the waiting area scribbling frantically in my DDD (after first stopping at the airport newsagent to purchase 2 pens - just in case)

After about two hours, a young girl in her early twenties sat beside me and found an appointment card for a brain surgeon on the seat.

She waved it in my direction and said "Oh look!  Somebody had an appt this morning with a brain surgeon!"

I replied "Yes!  I did see that!"

She then came back with "This would look great on a piece of artwork titled "Flotsam and Jetsom" with lots of other things"

I responded with "It's interesting that your brain works that way ... perhaps you could visit this brain surgeon and have that looked at!"

She giggled loudly and five minutes later disappeared around the corner.

When I finally got to board the next flight, I was sitting beside a young man, also in his early twenties. Approximately 20 minutes into the flight, he tapped my arm to get my attention and handed me two pieces of stone with gold strips in them.

He looked at me and said "That's real gold there".  I replied "Kewl! Where'dya get it?"  He said "I pulled it out of the tyre treads on a big truck at the gold mine!"  I answered "Wow!  And they let you keep it?"  He said "No, not really!"  I said "Don't tell me any more!"

Then he took his rocks back and proceeded to listen to music in his ipod.

It was a nice quick flight.  We must have had a strong tail wind because we arrived fifteen minutes early, despite leaving Sydney ten minutes late.

So here I am safe n sound and already enjoying BGWLBH's warm hospitality.

I've watched some tennis but it's been a long day, and my back has been good all day but is just starting to niggle a bit, so I'd best go rest my weary bones.

Nite all

This time tomorrow ...

This time tomorrow, I will be elsewhere, after spending eight hours in transit!

Bags are packed (except for what I need tomorrow morning to get ready).

Checklist marked off.

My only concern right now, is my back.  As I lifted some groceries onto the kitchen bench today, I felt 'something' happen in my back and it is causing me a little discomfort, and every so often, some stronger pain.

I'm hoping that a good night of sound sleep will heal what I think is only a minor injury, otherwise travelling might prove difficult!

Four hours in Sydney airport should be interesting.  Last time I travelled via Sydney, I spent over seven hours there.

I love to 'people watch' and you see such a wide cross section of people from all walks of life at an airport.

Thankfully, these days, you can also get good coffee at the airport so the combination of drinking coffee and 'people watching' is very appealing!

I think I can hear my bed calling my name!

Wish me luck in the healing process and I'll tell you all about my travels and 'people watching' tomorrow!

Oh! Aussie H came for lunch today and FINALLY met Chicklet!!  Wahoo!!

Nite all

rQQzy's photostream

rQQzy's photostream on Flickr.

All is right again!

Watching Tomic (the Aussie) play Djokovic in the Wimbledon Quarter Finals tonight.  Not sure if I'll make it to the end of the match though because I'm feeling very weary.  One set all.

I think yesterday wore me out.

I'm in the middle of making my travelling list so that I'll know what to pack for my holiday.   Trying to travel light, which is difficult to do in Winter!

Aussie  Aussie  Aussie
Oi!       Oi!        Oi!

I think I need to make this short and sweet because Tomic is playing so well and I am having trouble keeping my focus here on the written word.

I even made a chicken sandwich hoping that it would keep me awake a while longer!

Goran Ivanisovic is sitting right beside Patrick Rafter in the stands!  They played each other in the 2001 Wimbledon Final.  Ivanisovic won on that occasion.

Federer is winning his match.  Another good one will be Andy Murray's match.  I'd love to see him in the final.  Wouldn't all of England love to see him win a Wimbledon final!?

Ok, that's if from me.  I just have to stop rambling and I have to watch this match!!

Thank you to everybody who today sent me kind thoughts and wishes after my sad post yesterday.  I felt your love and I appreciate that you took the time to drop me those few lines of support.

Just as I suspected ... a new day, a better day and once again, all is right with the world!!

How I feel about Mum's birthday

Had she lived, today would have been my Mum's 71st birthday.  I know I've said it before, but I wish she was here to share our little Chicklet with us.

One of the many faces of Chicklet

Play time.

I wish she was here to share baby stories and talk about me as a baby, compared to Vegan Chickie as a baby, compared to Chicklet now.

Grandparents and great-grandparents tend to do that stuff.

I feel a bit cheated that we didn't get to share this fun time.

I feel a bit alone.

I feel like there's nobody who has been in my life long enough to understand 'me' and 'this' and how it all fits together.

I feel like there is nobody who appreciates all that I've been through in my life and how I got 'here' now.

I feel a bit isolated in the world.

I feel like only a Mum can understand all these things ... even if it's never talked about ... it's a shared history and having that one person who has been there for it all, kind of wraps you in an invisible security blanket.

It's a difficult thing to understand until you haven't got it anymore.

There are moments in your life when you feel the massive empty chasm that their passing creates.

This is a difficult time of year for many reasons.  May/June has all the important events that Mum was passionate about, like State of Origin Football and Wimbledon Tennis Grand Slam, as well as Mother's Day in May and her birthday in June.

Even though I don't necessarily dwell on them, these things sit quietly in the back of my mind and little things trigger the memories.

I often wonder how different our lives might have been if she was still with us.

I apologise for being a bit of a sad sack in this post.  I do try to be up-beat and positive in my blog posts, but once in a while, the melancholy visits briefly and it's nice to have this place to share my feelings.

These things pass.  Tomorrow will be a new day.  Tomorrow will be a better day.

Wherever you are Mum, I'm thinking of you with love ... Happy Birthday.

Tired Old Pumpkin

These were taken ten days ago when little Chicklet was four months old ...

She's a regular little chatterbox and talks and sings all day long!

I love the sound of her happy chatter :o)

She's my little Sweetie Possum :o)

I have to say hello ***waves frantically*** to my friend in Tasmania, who I shall call 'The Sex Therapist', who is now linked to this blog and will receive my posts daily.

She has been gone from here for a year now and is very much missed by everybody.  I wonder if she remembers why she is called The Sex Therapist???

The Sex Therapist and I at last years State of Origin pub night

One of these days, Adoring Husband and I will find our way down to Tassie for a visit ... but not during Winter!

Although, the following photo shows that it's not always sunshine and roses here in Winter either!

It wasn't as cold as it looks ... just very foggy

Another short post today.  It's after midnight and I've watched the Aussie, Bernard Tomic win his tennis match to make it into the quarter finals of Wimbledon.

I can feel myself turning into a pumpkin again so I'm outta here!

Nite all

Under Pressure

Anybody who knows me, also knows that I do my best work under pressure!

Whenever I am going to be away from home for any length of time, it doesn't matter how much notice I have, I never pack until the night before.

I spend the couple of days leading up to my departure, making a list of all the things that I will need, so that when the time comes, I just check off the list as I pack.

Following this routine, it usually takes me about thirty minutes to pack for a long trip, unless I have to iron clothes (which I only do if I'm not going to have access to an iron where I am going).

Today, I spent an hour in the bedroom trying on outfits that I could potentially take with me on my trip to see BGWLBH.

I was pleased to discover that my big Italian wool coat still fits me and is in good condition.

I was displeased to discover that I can only do up my jeans by lying on my bed and breathing in tight!

So, I figure that I need to lose about four kilos before Friday (that's four days away!) so that my jeans will fit me comfortably while I'm away.

Vegan Chickie offered to be my personal trainer to motivate me to use my gym equipment to remove unwanted weight over the coming days.

Between the cross-trainer, the mini trampoline, my trike and maybe even a little walking, I might be able to lose a couple of kilos.

Thank goodness my feet don't change size with my weight loss/gain!  I have plenty of shoes!

So I partly packed my suitcase with the clothes that I selected today.  The majority of my clothes are made of materials that travel well and require little ironing anyway, so that's a bonus.

I fear that by partly packing, this will take me out of my usual routine and mess up my system.  I do NOT do my best work when I am organised!

I think, tomorrow, I will empty said suitcase and wait until Thursday night because everybody knows ...

I ALWAYS do my best work under pressure!

Bruno Mars - Just The Way You Are [Debut Single]

... and last but not least

Day 30 - My favourite song this time last year

Fabulous Federer

It's almost midnight, and here I am, still awake to watch Wimbledon ... again!

I have spent a lazy day watching the sixth season of 'Friends', whilst sitting on the couch with Adoring Husband, who slept during two episodes!

The day started with rain and the forecast showed that we should have rain until Tuesday, but it's a very starry night, so I find it difficult to believe that it will rain tomorrow.

I have less than a week til I fly to my friend, BGWLBH, for two weeks.

This was taken just before my 'hen's night'.   Vegan Chickie, BGWLBH and I attempting to pose like Charlie's Angels.

It's going to be cold.

I'm stressing a little over the weather down that way, because I sent most of my warm clothes to the  Salvation Army and the rest of my warm clothes don't fit me any more because I've gained weight!

My lovely little Chicklet has been giggling her little heart out today.  She also popped her first tooth yesterday!  She didn't seem to have too much discomfort with it at all!

I tried to upload the sounds of her giggling for you, but I keep getting an error message!

How disappointing!

I will figure something out eventually ... but not tonight.  I am off to watch the Fabulous Federer play his tennis match against Nalbandian.

Nite all